The next day, everybody at San’s restaurant was acting weird. Sanvika was working like crazy. She appeared extra cheerful and talking to the customers more. But Tariq and Astrid could see that the smiles did not reach her eyes.
But at the same time, Tariq and Astrid were themselves being so strange and was not looking into each other’s eyes.
Shardul came in and he watched Sanvika for a while and he could sense something is wrong. But he knew better than to go directly talk to her.
“What happened?” Shardul slid into the bar counter to speak to Tariq.
“Huh? What? Nothing… Nothing happened?” Said Tariq who was so distracted himself.
“Clearly something happened? She is so happy.”
“Huh? She is…” He turned around to look at Astrid who was making pasta. “I don’t think so.” Astrid was clearly in a bad mood since the morning.
“I was talking about
Sanvika arrived in front of Vivaan’s house, that is Vivaan’s family house on a Sunday morning. She looked up at the grand house. It had been ages since she came to this house.Sanvika walked to them… She tried calling on Vivaan’s mobile, but he was not picking up.There were two security guards at the gate. She walked up to them.“I came to see Vivaan.” She told them.“Does he know you, ma’am?” The guard looked down at her clothes. She was dressed simply in a pair of shorts, a t-shirt, and a shirt over it. Not any branded one. As cheap as they can be. And her hair was tied up with a colourful scarf.“Of course, he knows me…” Sanvika snorted. But then she remembered how the guys may have no idea who she is. “I am Sanvika Singhania.”“Who?” The guard asked.“You may know the Singhanias, right?”One guard lightly hit
Vivaan hurried to get his shirt. While he was dressing, Sanvika got out of the bed and was staring at the door with fear. Vivaan could see Sanvika flustered and nervous. He put his hands on her shoulders to steady her. “Relax,” he said.“I don’t want to face this right now…” She mumbled.“This is the 10th floor. You cannot even jump off the window.”Sanvika frowned. “Ah…shit. Better get this over with.” She took a deep breath and walked to the door. The doorbell rang three times again in the time she walked to the door. She unlocked it to see her mother, Nirmala and older sister Prathyuksha.“I am telling you, we should leave them alone. It’s good that they are alone in there.” Prathyuksha was telling their mother. Then she noticed the door opening. “Oh, Hi sis…”But Sanvika could only see her mother’s strict face.
Sanvika stood in front of her family house that evening, looking up at it. The place she grew up in. She was not sure what she was doing there. That too immediately after the encounter with her mother. But her ma had asked her to drop by. Also, Sanvika was feeling pretty low after what happened with Vivaan. Somehow she ended up here…She was about to declare this as a terrible idea and was about to return when a luxurious car came to stop in front of her. The window was rolled down, and her father beamed at her from inside. “Sonu…” He called.Unlike his wife, Mukesh Singhania was a very affectionate person. He always addressed his daughters with pet names. Prathyuksha was ‘Paddu’ and Sanvika was ‘Sonu’. Whereas Nirmala always called them with their full names even when they were kids. The mother was the strict one in the house. Their father liked to spoil his princess daughters. His excess love and affection alway
“What in the world are you doing back here?” Tariq said as Sanvika came through the open door of the restaurant and sat down in front of him at a table. He was drinking the tea he made himself. It was still 6 am in morning.“Could you make a cup of tea for me as well, Tariq bhai? And I am famished. I could not eat dinner properly and the bus ride was so bumpy and crowded…” Sanvika said.“I will make breakfast,” Tariq got up, “But I need every detail…”“Me too…” Astrid said coming in.“Why are you here so early?” Tariq turned to Astrid. She frowned. “I mean… I… Good morning.” It was awkwardly cute. Sanvika did not know the details of how it happened, but they were kind of a couple now. She and Shardul had found them kissing in the kitchen one morning. Tariq was so embarrassed, he refused to look at Sanvika for a while.A
When Sanvika arrived at the construction site, Vivaan was instructing some workers. He appeared busy, so Sanvika watched him for a while. Actually, the image of Vivaan working was quite an amusing thing for Sanvika. She knew him since he was a kid and he had never been so keen on business or work. He did not even want to inherit the business. But now he is working as if he is a professional and had been doing it for quite a while.Vivaan was wearing a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and a jacket. There was a yellow safety helmet on his head. It was quite hot that day and his forehead sprouted sweat. His complexion had got darker in constant exposure to the sun. As she watched him, Sanvika began to feel weird inside as she felt that he was looking insanely hot. She bit her lips. She hesitated to approach him.She almost turned around to come another time when Vivaan turned around and saw her. He looked troubled. Sanvika just waited. Even when she was angry when she had come th
Vivaan arrived at San’s Restaurant at 10 pm. As he walked through the door, Tariq who was at the bar counter spotted him. “Vivaan…” he excitedly walked over to him.“Tariq bhai…”They hugged. “How are you?”“I’m fine. How are you?”Sanvika smiled at them while taking plates off a table. In a few minutes, Astrid, Shardul, Suchil and Aaron had surrounded Vivaan and they all were chatting with him. Sanvika watched from the counter or while waiting on tables. Everybody was happy to see Vivaan. And Vivaan seemed to have returned to his usual energetic, overly cheerful self. He was cracking jokes and telling them funny experiences he had while working.Shardul was the one who was not 100% happy with Vivaan’s return. Of course, he would not be happy considering his feelings for Sanvika. But now Shardul could see how there was a smile on Sanvika’s face, that was
“Tariq bhai, Astrid,” Sanvika said the next day as they were prepping food for the restaurant before opening for the day. “I am thinking of hiring one more employee. For serving and counter.”“Huh? What happened? You always said hiring one more employee for this tiny place is a waste of money.” Tariq asked surprised.“Well, money is for spending and we are earning enough now. And if there is one more person I can take a break once in a while. And it is rude to ask Mr Flower to help out all the time.”Astrid and Tariq were looking at her suspiciously though. “What?” She asked.“Why do I feel this has something to do with Vivaan being here?” Astrid asked.“What? No. I was thinking about this for a while.” She said appalled, trying to hide her embarrassed face. It did not help her that Vivaan came in through the open door just then.“Good Mo
Sanvika was surprised as Vivaan stopped beside Miramar beach. It was decorated colourfully for the International Film Festival. And there was a free informal movie screening going on on the beach. A huge white screen was made on a platform. And through a projector, the movie was projected onto the screen. The movie had already started and the audience had taken seats in the chairs arranged on the sand in front of the screen. “ A Free date as you wanted,” Vivaan said. Sanvika turned to Vivaan and smiled, “Well, the movie better not be boring.” She teased. Vivaan led her to the chairs and they sat down. Since the movie had just started, they were able to follow the story. Sanvika had always liked movies, so she enjoyed the movie about forgotten Goan singers so much. The movie was filled with good music, drama and pain. By the time it ended, she had tears in her eyes. “I did not intend to make you cry on our first date,” Vivaan said as they walked back t
It was a busy day in San’s restaurant. It’s been one year. The restaurant has been bursting with activity ever since they had changed the location and concept recently. “We obviously work well in a warm homely feel atmosphere,” Tariq commented while playing with his baby boy. “Right, Ocean?” He asked the baby. Tariq and Astrid had named their baby ‘Ocean’. It was such a beautiful name that denoted no religion or country of origin. Sanvika smiled taking a wine bottle from the shelf. She had decorated this new shop exactly the same as the Goa one. The concept was Goa. The food, the wine, even the clothes the staff wore, reminded everyone of the beaches and beautiful sceneries. “Hey, did you see that article in the newspaper about Shardul Bhai?” “Yes. Finally, his book is being bought by the people.” Shardul’s book on the heritage of Goan architecture had gained a lot of attention and became a best seller. Vivaan walked into the restaurant.
To: Nirmala.Singhania14@xmail.comFrom: viv.aan.o@xmail.comHi Ma,Since your phone is still off, I thought of sending an email instead. I told Vicky the truth. But shockingly she already knew about Taylor’s death. Yes, all our efforts to keep that fact from her were in vain. She knew about his death all this time. She left us because of the guilt she felt after knowing the truth.Vicky is still angry with you for my accident. But I think you two should sort that out. So please come back home.I was discharged yesterday and came back home. I am still supposed to take lots of rest, and Vicky and my mother would not let me do any office work. I cannot be sure when I can return to work. So please come back. We both cannot be gone at the same time from Singhania Industries Office.Regards,Vivaan To: Nirmala.Singhania14@xmail.comFrom: viv.aan.o@xmail.comHi Ma,It&rsquo
It was bedtime, and Sanvika began to get into the bystander’s bed. Vivaan was watching her. He did not really like lying to her about the whole memory loss thing. But he did not want her hating her mother either. He was not sure how she will react after she comes to know about Taylor. She may not be the same Sanvika anymore. She could decide to leave him and go back to Goa. This could be the last happy night they have.“Vicky,” He called.“Hm?” She asked.“Can’t we sleep on the same bed? I mean, we are married now, right?She looked at him. “Oh… you don’t remember. You have been sleeping away from me.”Vivaan knew that. But he stayed silent. Pretending he does not remember.“You want to sleep together?” Sanvika asked.Vivaan nodded. Sanvika got up from the bystander’s bed and came to bed with Vivaan. They lay down together.Sanvika felt strange
Sanvika adjusted the flowers on the table beside Vivaan’s bed. Vivaan had been shifted to a room. It has been three days since the accident and last day, Vivaan had woken up briefly. Just briefly. He did not say anything and went back to sleep.Vivaan‘s mother was at the hospital for a while and then she left him with Sanvika to go home. Astrid and Tariq had come to visit Vivaan earlier and left an hour before. Astrid was the one who brought flowers to be put in the room.Sanvika sat beside Vivaan after she arranged the flowers. One side of his head was shaved where they operated. That area was still bandaged. Sanvika fixed the remaining hair strands. Vivaan always had good hair. He took pride in his hair and always kept it in well-groomed condition. Sanvika thought that he may not be happy at the fact that one side of his head is now shaved. She moved her fingers through the front fringes.Vivaan stirred in his sleep. “Vivaan?” Sanvika c
Vivaan breathed heavily as pain rushed through his whole body. He was still held on to his seat with the seat belt inverted since the car had turned over. The car’s top hand dented, crashing into his head. He bled from the wound… He was losing consciousness as his own blood made a pool on the roof of the car and oozing out to the asphalt road.“Vicky…” he mumbled as he saw people gather around the car. “will be waiting for me. Need to get home.” The guys following him pushed through the crowd and went to the car. One of them took out his mobile and called for the ambulance, and another one called Nirmala at once. Vivaan could not stay awake anymore and fell unconscious.Sanvika was wondering why Vivaan was getting late when Mansi - Vivaan’s mother rushed into their room. “Sanvika… Sanvika… Vivaan.” She appeared very flustered. That is when Sanvika got a call from Nirmala. “V
Nirmala was about to go home for the day when Vivaan knocked and entered her cabin. She turned to him. “Oh, Vivaan. Is there any problem?” “No, auntie. Not official. I was hoping to talk to you about something personal.” “Of course,” Nirmala said. “And it is ‘Ma’ from now on, Son-in-law.” “Oh, right,” Vivaan said awkwardly, still not used to calling someone else ‘mother’. “Sit.” Vivaan sat down, and Nirmala sat down on her seat looking at her. “So what’s up?” Vivaan hesitated. He knew Nirmala would definitely be against telling Sanvika the truth about Taylor. He needed to argue with his mother-in-law now. And she was not just any mother-in-law. She was Nirmala Singhania. She could give a fright to anyone. But Vivaan decided to go directly to the subject. “Ma, I feel we should tell Sanvika about the boy’s death.” Nirmala’s expression changed. She blinked at Vivaan like she does not understand where this is coming from and this i
Vivaan’s hands traced a line horizontally across Sanvika’s stomach over her t-shirt. His finger gently lifted up the fabric and his hand was placed against the naked skin of her stomach. “What are you doing?” Sanvika asked, quivering against his touch.“You wanted me,” he said, taunting her, looking into her eyes with a naughty look.Sanvika squinted at him. “Still want me?” He asked as his finger slid into the edge of her shorts and pull the waistband’s elastic of it. Sanvika got flustered as Vivaan leave the waistband suddenly. It snapped back to Sanvika, painfully colliding with her skin like a rubber band. But the pain just gave her more arousal. She gulped.Vivaan slid his finger against the waistband again as his other hand strongly clutched her side. His eyes looked into her hungrily now as he moved his finger over her soft skin. “Tell me, Vicky… Or should I stop touching you?”
The staff at San’s Restaurant sat looking at the door on the opening day of the new restaurant. Not even a fly came in through the door. Astrid sighed loudly.“It’s okay. It’s just the first day,” Tariq said in general. “People will come eventually.” But when he turned around he saw that Sanvika looked pretty gloomy. She was not looking happy for a few days. She was easily irritable and rarely smiled.“Why don’t you go home, San?” He asked. “We will be here. We have more staff now. The boss need not be around all the time. Go home and relax.” He stopped talking as she shot him a stern look. She may be younger than him, but Sanvika always made sure to let him know who is the boss. That did not mean she was ever disrespectful to him. He was more or less treated like an older brother most of the time.“Oww,” Astrid said suddenly clutching her stomach.“What happen
Sanvika looked at Vivaan lying on the couch. She felt insulted. Awkward. Perplexed. But more than anything, hurt. This was her wedding night. She always had dreams about her wedding night with Vivaan and her imaginations did not go like this.Her eyes threatened to spill tears. So she cleared her throat and looked away.“Hm… You are kind of taking things too far, you know.” She said looking back at him. “I mean… It’s just me. We have slept on one bed even we were just friends. Then what is the big deal in sleeping on the same bed now?”Vivaan did not reply.Now tears really began to come. She wiped them away. “Vivaan…” she called.“I am sorry,” He whispered, not looking at her. “Give me some time. Some days… I will tell you everything.”“Everything? What everything?” She asked.“Just…. Things.”“Wha